That’s the tricky part. If the trap gets tripped by a bird in the box, you need to be prepared to get the bird out of the box. I did this yesterday for the first time. Here’s what I did: I took a very large plastic bag and put it over the top of the blue bird box. While my husband gathered the bottom of the bag and held it closed around the post, I opened the box. The HOSP flew out and I was able to grab her quickly and subdue her. If when you open the box you see that you’ve got a bluebird or other native songbird, you’ll want to remove the plastic bag as quickly as possible so that the BB can fly away, all the while ensuring that the bird isn’t injured in the process…which it shouldn’t be if you’re calm and steady during the process. I suggest reading the instructions here (scroll down to the section on Removing a Trapped Bird from the Nest after Capture). They are clear and concise (but it is much easier to do with two people if possible).
